Requiring Respect in Children

As a young child, my mother taught me that children should respect adults ... just because they were adults. That my respect was simply a requirement of my very existence. As an early teen, I had some friends convince me that "adults should have to 'earn' my respect." Actually, I had some adults who believed that as well. I carried some of that "earned respect" belief right up into adulthood.

Then my first child made it to five years old and decided to show that he didn't respect me as his mother. *ahem* His military Papa didn't agree with my earned-respect philosophy and our precocious boy got into trouble. In our sometimes heated discussions about this issue, he pointed something out to me that hadn't occurred to me before - something that I suppose should have been obvious:

A child's respect has already been earned!

A Good Father

Our oldest - Maestro - turned twelve this past November. He is rapidly hitting adolescence and what a time it is! So far I have been more than impressed with his concern for how he "should" act, why people (especially teens!) act the ways they do, and for where he should look to improve himself next. His progress has been impressive and inspiring. But even as he mentally moves forward in his journey to becoming a man, he is also moving on his way physically. That really moves him out of the realm of "Momma's Boy"